Wolf mate
by Lololova
Summary: This is my Castle Halloween Bash 2018 Entry. I have never done this before so I'm sorry if I got anything "wrong". Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy this small multi-chap I've cooked up. Also the cover for this story was made by the amazing Fania, and if you don't follow her already you SHOULD. Her instagram account is fania.fanart and she has so many amazing drawings!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N_ _: Okay, so, this is my entry to Halloween Bash 2018. I have never done this before so I'm sorry if I got anything "wrong". Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy this small multi-chap I've cooked up._

 _Also the cover for this story was made by the amazing Fania, and if you don't follow her already you SHOULD. Her instagram account is and she has many amazing drawings you should check out!_

* * *

"Do you plan on telling her?" Alexis asked excitedly and Castle turned to her with horror in his blue eyes.

"Yeah right. 'Hey Beckett, I know this sounds weird but I'm actually a werewolf which means I immediately know when I've met my soulmate and you're it'," he said in a mocking tone. "She'll shoot me."

Alexis shrugged her shoulders. "Well, good thing you're pretty much bulletproof then. As long as she doesn't use silver."

"Ha-ha."

But he wondered what would happen if he actually told her. _Would she really be so opposed to the idea?_ They had known each other for three years now and he knew she didn't believe in the supernatural, but maybe if he showed her? Then again, she would most likely shoot him. _Wouldn't she?_

"But really dad. I think you need to tell her."

He met his daughter's eyes again, it was like looking into a mirror. Her identical blue eyes staring back into his. He could easily see how serious she was, _when did she grow up?_ , he just wasn't sure if that was really the right way to go. He'd, on purpose of course, played the clumsy writer in order to keep his nature hidden from the detective. And he was, in fact, _very_ proud of himself for being able to fool all of them into thinking he was too clumsy for his own good. He'd even let people hit him! As if their fits hadn't, in reality, been so slow he could've easily avoided them with his wolf reflexes.

Castle shook his head, turned back his attention to the vegetables he was preparing for their dinner.

"I can't, pumpkin. Not yet," he said with an exhausted sigh.

"Why not? You said you almost told mom about it." He looked up at his daughter again and scrunched up his face.

"Yeah, _almost_ ," he agreed. "But the only reason I considered it was because I could immediately sense you were one too and I couldn't risk your mother calling the cops on you."

She 'oh'ed and started taking out plates for them, started to set the table as he finished up with the vegetables.

"But she wasn't your soulmate," he heard her whisper and he clenched his eyes shut at the reminder.

He'd known the second she walked up to him at that book party, known immediately she was the one. He couldn't really explain how, couldn't explain it more than it being a feeling and that her scent just... _enchanted_ him. It was just like the stories he'd heard of, the stories he'd read, and he just _knew_ it was her. Her short hair, those hazel eyes and pink lips, the confidence her whole soul was radiating towards him. _Yup,_ he'd been a lost case _long_ before he understood what was going on.

Castle ignored his daughter's comment and tried to focus on the food instead, changing the subject. "So, how was school today?"

He could both hear and feel the disappointment from his red headed girl but decided to ignore that too. He would tell Beckett one day, _he would_ , he just didn't know when. Or how.

* * *

He could sense she would call before she did, he pretended she just woke him up anyway. Body drop. The corner of Melville St and Morris Park Ave. She apologized for waking him, _because yeah, she did that now_ , and he said it was no problem, that he'd be there as soon as he could. When he got there he wasn't surprised to see the whole gang there already, he tried to make it into a habit to be late. It was easier being the clumsy, late, playboy writer than letting them know he was different. He considered them family but... the secret was not theirs to bare. Besides, he had a feeling Javier Esposito, the latino, would shoot him if he knew, and Kevin Ryan, the irish, would most likely never be close to him again.

"There you are," Beckett greeted him when he jogged up to them, he could almost swear her eyes lit up at the sight of him. _He knew they did_.

"You're late," the latino grunted and he smiled apologetically.

"What do we have?" he asked and his soulmate made a gesture to the M.E. kneeing beside the body.

Lanie Parish, the latina medical examiner, nodded before starting her go-through.

"Victim female, cause of death gun shot to the head, time of death estimated to 9 pm last night. There's no sign of sexual assault but I can't be sure until I take her back to the lab and make a full examination."

"Any I.D.?" Beckett asked and Castle realized they must've waited for him.

They hadn't gone through the details until he came. Did he not stall long enough? Was he getting impatient and not slowing down enough? He was always impatient with seeing her but that didn't mean he could start take it any less serious.

"Yeah, Hannah Lorenz, her driver's license states she was twenty three."

Quicker than he perhaps should have, Castle jumped in. "Lorenz? Did you say Hannah Lorenz?" He looked down at the blonde woman before looking around them, taking deep breaths to get as much scent as he possibly could into his nose.

There was indeed a distant sting of wolf in the air. _No longer here_. What was she doing _here_? _Of all place she could be, she had been here_. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Did you know her?" Beckett questioned and he was snapped back to reality, eyes connecting with worried hazels.

He cleared his throat, _shit_. "No, not really. I-ah, some of my old... friends mentioned her once as his daughter's girlfriend." _Nice save_.

Her eyes narrowed and he tried to ignore his sudden urge to gulp. _Maybe not so nice_. Her hands landed on her hips and she raised her eyebrow in question.

"He did, I promise," Castle lied.

It wasn't _truly_ a lie. It was someone who'd told him about the daughter and her girlfriend Hannah Lorenz, but it wasn't exactly a _friend_.

"Fine, what's the girlfriend's name?" Beckett asked and he swallowed his curse. _He really couldn't leave them out of this, could he?_

"Julie Trent."

"And your friend?" Espo asked and Castle glanced back to the latino.

"Marco Trent. But I'm sure they had nothing to do with this." He wasn't sure who he was trying to assure, them or himself.

"Okay, you guys check out the Trents and we'll go door to door, try to see if anyone heard or saw something," Beckett ordered and the duo nodded before walking off.

Castle looked after them and hoped they wouldn't piss off the wolf they were about to see, he'd heard things about the man he wish he'd never heard. As he turned to follow his partner he almost walked straight into her and had to jump back in order to not touch her.

"Jeez," he exclaimed and he saw a glimpse of amusement in those hazels before they turned worried, serious.

"What aren't you telling us, Castle?" she questioned and he clenched his jaw before narrowing his eyes in a questioning matter.

"What do you mean? I'm telling you what I know."

Her eyes searched his and he tried to empty his mind as much as he could, he didn't need her to worry. _He would worry for the both of them anyway_. After a few seconds he could see she gave up, nodded her head before turning around to walk in the direction of the first building. What she didn't know was he could hear the sigh she let out in small disappointment. _She didn't believe him_. Anyway he followed his partner, if he'd been in his wolf form he'd sure had his tail between his legs. He _hated_ lying to her. It always felt as though a piece of his heart was ripped out, as if the fact that they were soulmates actually meant they lost a piece of themselves every time they weren't honest with each other. At least from his end, he had no idea what it was like to be human and be soulmate to a werewolf. Maybe she didn't feel the same magnetic pull he felt. Then again, she had walls she'd built up after her mother's murder. She hadn't told him about them, but he could feel them. He could also feel he was slowly gaining her trust, gaining a passage into her heart. He wondered if telling her would shatter that passage, that trust, or if it would help him to fully get it.

Beckett's knock on the first apartment door jerked him back to the present. It didn't take long before she was asking questions to every resident in the building, however it took _forever_ until they were finished and had every statement they could get their hands on. On their way out of the building Castle couldn't stop his mouth from moving.

"Well, that was useless."

"Yeah," Beckett said in a sigh and they started walking across the street when all of a sudden he could feel her body straightening with a peeked interest before setting off towards the alley across from the crime scene.

He quickly followed her and tried to see what she'd seen. His eyes almost immediately landed on a homeless man sitting with his arms hugging his body as he rocked back and forth. _Oh no_.

"Hey, excuse me, can I ask you a few questions?" Beckett asked as she came in ear shot with the man.

 _And he smelled, jeez._ Castle had to restrain himself from wrinkling his nose in disgust. This man hadn't bathed in at least a couple years. _Yurk_. The man looked up with eyes filled with horror and Castle felt a chill go down his spine.

"Wolf," the man said with a shaky voice. "She turned into a wolf."

The last was just a breathy whisper and even though Beckett asked the man to repeat himself Castle had already heard the statement he would give.

"She turned into a wolf, she was a wolf, then not, then wolf again," the man chanted as he rocked back and forth.

"There was a woman here? Last night? Did you see who killed her?" Beckett asked, eyeing the man with caution.

"Wolf, not wolf, woman, not woman, shot bang, woman, new wolf, gone," the man looked almost hysterical and Castle wondered if this was how it looked like when normal people found out werewolves were real. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy.

He met Beckett's furrowed eyes when she looked back at him for a few seconds before glancing back to the homeless man. She dragged her hand through her hair and Castle felt a small relief of her scent flowing his way, masking some of the terrible smell of garbage, but her sigh indicated she was disappointed the man hadn't been to more help.

Before she could say anything about them moving along Castle turned around and walked to the hot dog stand to order three hot dogs. He could feel her eyes on him as he paid and before she could say anything more he handed the hot dogs to the homeless man. _Just because he smelled bad didn't mean he didn't need the little he could get._

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," the man started chanting instead when he had the hot dogs in his lap. The man didn't hesitate before he picked one up and put it in his mouth.

"No problem, stay safe," Castle muttered before he turned back to his partner and gestured for her to follow him towards their next stop.

"What do you think he meant?" Beckett asked as they walked into the lobby of one of the buildings across their crime scene.

He decided to shrug, play unknowing. "I have no clue. He talked about a wolf... you think the zoo has lost one of theirs?" he said in a half-joking matter, but deep down he hoped she would go with that story rather than a werewolf one. _It wasn't time. Not yet._

"Didn't you hear? Wolf, _not_ wolf, and _she turned into a wolf_. I thought you would be all over a werewolf-theory by now," her voice was filled with mocked amusement and he pretended to way it over as he did his best not to show the terror he felt inside himself.

"Well, if _you_ say so then maybe..."

"Castle, I'm joking," she cut him off with a brilliant smile across her lips, her shoulder nudging his in a teasing shove.

 _You have no idea how happy that makes me_. Still, he couldn't help a sudden feeling sting in his heart. _She would never believe him_.


	2. Chapter 2

Castle tried his best to avoid the werewolf subject every time it was brought up. Even the boys teased him about not thinking about it the first he did when they found out about the homeless guys's chant.

"You starting to lose your game, Castle," Esposito had mocked while Ryan had shivered at the thought of werewolves.

Castle had just laughed it off, saying he'd not found it relevant and had been surprised Beckett, _of all people_ , had come up with the theory. She'd immediately bit back saying how it _wasn't_ a theory, there was no _way_ she believed it true for one second. Once again he'd felt that sting in his heart and he'd even excused himself, saying he needed to go to the bathroom. While in the stall he tried to control the sudden need of air, tried take long, deep breaths. If it hadn't been for the knowledge of how filthy the stall walls were he would've leant his forehead on it. He put his hands over his face and tried to wipe away the small pain in his chest. _She wasn't rejecting him_. She was simply not one of the people believing in supernatural beings, and _he already knew that_. So, _why did it hurt?!_ A sudden knock had him jumping and he felt his body freeze.

"Castle? Are you alright?" her voice sounded through the room with the stalls.

She was standing outside the small room with stalls, knowing she couldn't go inside the men's bathroom in case there would be one standing with his pants down. Castle quickly flushed and walked out of the stall to wash his hands, taking a quick glance in the mirror before going to the door. Opening it he immediately met her, seeing her hazels filled with a worry, hearing her heart beat a bit faster the second her eyes met his.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he questioned, his eyebrows furrowed in a try to look surprised.

"You-you know we were only messing with you... right?" her eyes were so filled with regret he almost looked away at the way his heart was slightly breaking at the thought of her thinking she caused him pain. _Almost_. But he held his gaze, knowing that if he broke it she would most definitely think he wasn't fine.

"I know, I just really needed to pee," he pointed his thumb towards the bathroom behind him and she bit her lower lip. _Those pink lips he'd dreamt of kissing one time too many_.

"You sure?"

 _How could one woman be so adorable and so maddening at the same time?_ "I'm sure."

He could sense she didn't believe him but to his relief she did let it go, _for now_. And they set their steps back to her desk where the boys were filling out the murder board with what they knew.

"Did you talk to Marco and Julie?" Castle asked the duo once he stood in front of the board, looking at all the things they'd scrabbled down.

"Yeah, hella weird ones," Esposito said with a wrinkled forehead.

"How do you know them again?" Ryan asked with the same wrinkle.

He couldn't exactly tell them the truth, so he shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, I don't really know them, I was at a party once and Marco was there, we came to talking and since we both had daughters that's one of the topics we shared. I remember them because of the way he talked, how mysterious he sounded." He tried to explain and thanks to his occupation the detectives simply nodded and took it as a reasonable explanation. After all, that's the kind of things he usually did anyway.

The hair in his nape suddenly raised and he immediately froze in his whole body. With the next breath he inhaled he knew exactly who it was and he hoped the fear in his eyes weren't visible to his partner as he looked back to see the two wolfs walk into the bullpen.

"Richard Castle, what a surprise," Marco said, his voice as dark as one could be, when he approached them.

Castle gulped and faked a smile. "Marco! I had no idea the guys invited you here."

"We didn't, what are you doing here Mr. Trent? I thought you said you didn't have anything to add," Esposito said and Castle had to stop himself from telling the detective to be careful.

"I don't, we just wanted to see how the investigation's going. Hannah was one of us." The wolf glanced to Castle with bright green eyes and he bit his tongue. "And I gotta say, it's a nice surprise to see one of us is on the case too."

Castle immediately felt the looks of his detectives turn to him, especially one pair of hazels he would rather not look at him while he was lying. "Yeah, it's always sad when a great story-teller dies."

"Story-teller?" Ryan asked and to Castle's relief he could see a glimpse of amusement flicker in Marco's greens.

"Yeah, just like Ricky here, Hannah was telling stories in her own way." The man looked to Beckett and smiled sweetly, which had Castle's blood starting to boil. "Would it be okay if I spoke to your partner in private, detective?"

Castle met her asking gaze but after he nodded slightly she shrugged her shoulders, saying 'sure, why not'. Castle immediately set off and led Marco and his daughter, who had been completely quiet during the whole ordeal, into the break room, where he immediately shut the door and the blinds. _He didn't need anyone spying on them_.

"What do you think the deal is?" He heard Esposito asking through the door.

"I have no idea," his partner answered and he gave out a sigh before he turned to the wolf.

"Thanks for playing along," he muttered and Marco nodded, stern.

"What happened to my Hannah?" Julie asked, her voice strong yet filled with grief.

Castle raked his hand through his hair. _So, that's why they were here._ "I don't know. We're trying to figure it out. But I need to know, was one of you there?" he asked and the man shook his head while his daughter's eyes started filling with water.

"I got there too late," she whispered and Marco laid a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I could feel it, just as real as if it had been me. I could _feel_ her being _ripped away_ from me," her voice trembled, her tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry for your loss, I had no idea you were actual soulmates," Castle apologized, eyes looking down at the ground.

The room was filled with silence for a minute, the only small sound was the sobs of Julie, before Castle decided he should probably take the opportunity to see what the wolves knew about their deceased.

"Do you know if Hannah had any enemies? Or someone who suspected her being..." he knew he closed the door but he still glanced back before he added, "one of us?"

Julie shook her head as her father started rubbing his hand up and down her arm in comfort. "No, I mean, of course we had people not exactly liking the two of us being together but... other than that I'm pretty sure she didn't have any enemies. And if someone knew about us... I don't know."

Castle hummed, "Well, if you come up with anything, or see anything strange, call me." Marco looked up at him and he felt his heart skip a beat. "I mean, if you want to. But it would be better if you call me instead of going here, otherwise my partner will get more suspicious than she already is." He tried to explain and the wolf nodded.

"Sure, and you give us a heads up on who's behind this."

Castle gulped, _he couldn't do that_. "That's no..."

"Just do it," Marco growled and Castle jerked back a bit, shutting his mouth.

It didn't take long before the two went out of the break room and Castle stayed behind in order to calm his raising heart. If he told them who the killer was before they arrested him, _who knew what they would do to him?!_ And it wasn't like Castle could get his partner to just let the case go once the murderer can't be found. Or worse, _found dead_. He went to the espresso machine and started making coffee, trying to calm down as he thought about what options he had.

"Castle?"

He jumped at her voice and cursed under his breath when he spilled coffee all over his hand.

"You okay, Castle?" Beckett asked with worry evident as she walked up to him with fast steps.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said as he shook his hand and walked to the sink, soothing his hand with cooling water. "Just trying to make coffee for you." He glanced at her to give her a small smile, which he could see did nothing to sooth her worry.

In fact, she surprised him by gently grabbing his sore hand to take a look at it. Her touch had his skin frizzling with electricity and before it got to the point where he would tell her everything, he pulled away. Even though it hurt. He went back to making coffee, feeling her eyes watching his every move. _How was he supposed to get out of this?_ While he made the coffee he had a reason not to meet her eyes but once it was done, he had to look up and see those hazels staring back at him with mixed worry and confusion.

"You know you can tell me anything, right? We're partners," she said and he handed her the coffee mug.

 _Not this._ "Of course! I'm just tired, I have a writer's block that just... keeps reminding itself," he waved his hand to try and get her to let it go.

She narrowed her eyes on him but just like before she nodded, didn't push him, and he felt both relief... and grief. Maybe if she'd pushed him he would've just told her. _Maybe_. Without any more words they went back to her desk to try and come up with their next move in the case.

* * *

"Marco?! Marco came to the precinct?! With Julie?!"

His daughter's reaction turned out just like he'd expected. Her eyes were wide and started to look between him and the door, as if she was halfway expecting the wolves to barge in at any moment.

"Yeah, apparently Hannah Lorenz and Julie wasn't just lovers, they were also soulmates," Castle explained and watched his daughter's eyes widen with a new kind of surprise.

"Oh... I didn't know werewolves could have soulmates of the same sex..." she started but then shrugged. "Then again, it is the _soul_ we're connected to, not the sex. It actually makes more sense now, I never figured Marco for being the accepting one."

Castle nodded, _he neither_. "Anyway, the fact that they came to the precinct made Beckett even more suspicious of how I knew Hannah," he groaned with annoyance.

He felt his daughter peek at that, her eyes watching him with the same glimpse she'd given him only a day earlier.

"Then. Maybe. You. Should. Tell. Her," she said with a meaningful gaze and a small pause within each word to make it more demanding.

He groaned even more. "No, Alexis, I can't. Besides, I just need to get through this case and then everything can go back to normal."

The redhead rolled her eyes, a gesture he was assuming she'd picked up from the detective. " _What_ are you so damn afraid of, dad? She's your _soulmate_."

 _What if she rejected him?_ He shook his head. "Even if she's my soulmate, she's still Beckett." He sighed. "You see, just because our souls know we should be together it doesn't always mean we'll end up together. It's a personality thing too, you know." He saw she was beginning to open her mouth and so he held up his hand, already knowing he had an example. "Take gram for example, she _knew_ your grandfather was her soulmate. Yet, he left after their first and only magical night." He could see the hope in her eyes falling a bit. "I'm not saying me and Beckett won't get together in the end, or that you won't find your soulmate and be together with him or her for the rest of your life, I'm just saying I can't risk it. I wouldn't be able to live without her," he shrugged his shoulders as if he'd given up. "It would kill me."

Alexis was silent for a few minutes, her eyes filled with a small fear and sadness. _Now she understood_. She finally understood her father's reluctance to telling the detective about them, and her being his soulmate. When they broke the silence again, it was Alexis who parted her lips after shaking her head.

"So, what do we do about Marco and Julie?"

Castle shrugged his shoulders. "I have no clue. I mean, I know he's kind of in charge of all werewolves here in New York but I'm not sure I can just hand the killer off to him. If I do, and he kills them, Beckett will come after him, and there's no way I can stop her..."

"And if she does, he might kill her too," Alexis voiced the fear he couldn't stop thinking about. "But, what if you can make Marco _not_ kill the person behind it?" He looked up at that, a question evident in his eyes. "I mean, what if you can ask him to just mess the kid up, make him believe in werewolves and live the rest of his life in jail fearing a werewolf will come after him during one of the full moons?"

"That's actually not a bad idea," Castle started thinking. _Maybe that's how he would get away with this._

"I can come with you, maybe that way you will get a chance to actually suggest it," she offered and he immediately shook his head.

"Out of the question, you're not going anywhere close to them."

The only thing fearing him more than Marco killing Beckett was Marco getting his hands on his daughter. The wolf was probably not really as bad as he was painted up to be, but Castle wasn't going to take his chances. The wolf had been around for a long, _long_ , time and there were a lot of stories surrounding him. The kind of stories that wolves told their youngsters to make sure they wouldn't do anything stupid that could reveal them to humanity. It was already bad enough that people had gotten a myth about them in the first place, they didn't need them to start thinking it was somewhat true and start hunting them.

"Fine, but if you disappear, I will come after you. I'm not gonna be an orphan," she growled the last sentence.

He had to choke the chuckle wanting to slip his lips. "You wouldn't be. You still got your mother."

She snorted. "Yeah, I'd rather live on my own than live with her. I love her but she stresses the shit out of me with her _shopping_ and _manicures_." The way his daughter imitated her mother pulled the laugh out of him.

 _Yeah, he'd make sure she wouldn't need to live with her crazy mother_.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Thank you all so much for all your reviews and comments! I really hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story as much as you seemed to enjoy the first chapter. Love you all! Until next time, xxxx_


	3. Chapter 3

He'd hoped this was just another case, he'd prayed that Hannah Lorenz had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time or it had simply been someone targeting her because of _her_. But the second Lanie had called them down to the morgue in order to tell them their victim had been killed with a _silver_ _bullet_ , all his hopes were crashed under a big shoe. Beckett had teased him about the werewolf theory again, but her eyes had immediately picked up on the change in his body the second she laid her eyes on him, and her mouth immediately closed with a clench in her jaw. After that he could feel her eyes glancing to him more often than not, could feel the constant questions radiating from her body as he tried to act as normal as he could without freaking out. _Did someone know about them?_ If they knew about Hannah, _how long would it take for them to figure out he and his family were one of them too?_

The boys didn't see his small fear, they teased him about how he wasn't theorizing about Hannah being a werewolf. He probably got better at hiding his feelings once they had started teasing anyway, it had been that first instant shock that had led Beckett to seeing through him. She'd bit the boys off, though, told them they had a case to solve and shouldn't be disrespecting the dead. The boys were sent off to try and find Hannah's parents while Beckett told Castle they would focus on the things they knew to try and build up a timeline. When Castle took a break in order to get them coffee he took the opportunity to send a text message to Marco, the phone which wouldn't be on the record in case Beckett or the boys would check it up. He wrote he had some new developments he needed to share, that it was urgent that they'd speak, and asked if they could meet up somewhere during the night. As he was done with the coffee he felt his phone vibrate and checked it to see the wolf had sent him an address and a time.

"Why a silver bullet? Why go through the trouble of making a bullet out of pure silver instead of just buying a normal one?" Beckett asked as he handed her the coffee, the wrinkle between her eyes as adorable as it had been the first time he witnessed it all those years ago.

 _Because silver hurt more._ He shrugged his shoulders, tried to be as nonchalant as he could. "Maybe you're right, maybe she was a werewolf." Maybe if he indulged the idea, they would let him off the hook.

She gave him a look, _her_ look. "Don't be ridiculous."

With quick thoughts he decided he could actually use this to his advantage, the killer was already crazy for killing anyway. "Okay, she isn't, but let's pretend the _killer_ thought so. What if he got so delusional he would actually start killing people because he think they're werewolves?"

She hummed at that. "Maybe, but where would that leave him? You know any special place we could visit?"

He suddenly felt his heart pick up in speed. "Me? Why me?" _What are you saying?_

Rolling her eyes, she answered, "Aren't you usually the one with the weird places to go? You remember you took us to that weird place with stuff from 200 years ago?"

 _Right_. "Uh-well-yeah," he struggled to find what words to say so he just closed his mouth for a few seconds, cleared his head. "I can't think of any," he said while shaking his head.

He could see she didn't truly believe him, could see how she kept searching his eyes for the secret she knew he was hiding. He knew he shouldn't look away but he couldn't help it, her gaze was hard on him and he couldn't stand the way it hurt seeing her so disbelieving.

"What aren't you telling me, Castle?"

Her hazels were practically begging him to tell her the truth, _and god knew he wanted to,_ but just before he opened his mouth to tell her he found himself shrugging his shoulders.

"Nothing," he smiled at her before turning his eyes back to their timeline. "What was she doing in that corner? Did she live nearby?" He changed the subject easily, and even though he could see the irritation and worry in her eyes she tried to kill a sigh as she let it go.

And that's kind of how the rest of the day played out, him trying to constantly ignore her questioning eyes as they together tried to put together the timeline and find out what had happened to the girl. When the boys came back they announced they'd indeed found Hannah's parents but they hadn't spoken to their daughter for two years. Castle had a feeling that might've been about the time Hannah met Julie, or even been the time when she turned. According to the boys the two parents seemed devastated about the fact that their daughter was dead, they said they had hoped their little girl would come back to them sooner or later. Castle could tell by the way Espo and Ryan smelled that her parents weren't wolves, which made him wonder if Julie or Marco had been the one to turn the girl and if it had been by her own will or theirs. Most likely it had turned out good in the end though, since Julie and Hannah were soulmates.

"I don't get this case," Beckett groaned when the time got late and she'd already sent the boys home.

Castle eyes his partner gently, her forehead was leaning into her hand as she clenched her eyes shut. She looked so exhausted and he wondered how much was really about the case, how much was about the worry about him he could sense radiating from her.

"Maybe we should take the night to get some rest and look back at it again tomorrow," he suggested and she popped open one eye to glance at him.

"I'm sorry, Castle, you're probably tired. You can go home," she said, a small smile tugging at her lips.

He shook his head. "I'm not going home until you do," he halfway threatened, knew she wouldn't stay longer if it meant he forced himself to stay there too.

As expected she sighed and ran her hand down her face. "Fine, I'll go."

He wanted to grin proudly, but settled with a small smile, as they raised from their chairs and walked out of the precinct.

* * *

Even though he would've loved to go home, like he told Beckett he would, he steered his way towards the address Marco had sent him earlier. He was going to suggest the idea his daughter had, but his main objective needed to be to warn the wolf if their secret maybe being out. Because, like his partner had stated, _why_ make a bullet out of silver unless you _knew_ the person you were going to kill was a werewolf. That's what every myth said. 'Werewolves were allergic to silver'. Though, truth was, _any_ bullet to the head would be deadly, didn't matter if it were silver or not. The difference was how it felt, somehow silver _felt_ more, _hurt_ more, but he had really no idea why. Perhaps it did more damage too and it healed slower but just because that's how silver acted didn't mean any other bullet wouldn't have done the same thing. It didn't take long before he found the alley Marco had sent him and it didn't take long before the man himself came into sight.

"Did you find the killer?" he immediately asked and Castle took a small breath, hoped the wolf wouldn't find it offensive he called with other, _still important_ , matter.

"No, but she was killed with a silver bullet. Home-made by the looks of it," he told the wolf who he could see immediately tensed his body, getting ready to fight if something where to happen. "Are you sure no one suspected anything? You didn't see or hear anything out of ordinary?"

Marco shook his head but Castle could tell he was most definitely trying to think his hardest. "She was always careful, just like Julie."

"Do you know if anyone else has been running they're mouths?" Castle asked, hoping he could at least find one clue they could check out. He didn't want to go home empty handed, he needed this case over with so he could move on without Beckett coming on to him.

"If they had, you know I would've put a stop to it," Marco's eyes narrowed on him and he immediately held his hands up in defense.

"Of-of course you would, I just thought it best to ask."

"That all? I should get back to my daughter," Marco said and if Castle could swear he saw the worry in the wolf's eyes. _Of course he was worried about his daughter. He knew how it felt_.

Castle was then quickly pitching Alexis's idea to the wolf, knowing he would want to get back to his heartbroken girl as fast as possible. Marco growled at the idea of 'only' scaring the bastard who'd done this to his daughter, but after Castle trying to stand up for himself by telling what the consequences could bring for both him and _his_ soulmate, the wolf promised to at least think about it. Castle felt relief filling his body at that, hoped all would sort out so that Beckett wouldn't go after the wolf or find out about any of them. Before Marco left he turned around to the writer who immediately felt himself tense. _Maybe he wouldn't consider after all_.

"By the way," _was that a hint of a smile?_ "You should tell her. And turn her as soon as you can, I know that's what I regret." The man turned away from the alley, walking away only to leave a startled Castle behind.

Castle didn't know what to say, so he just stayed quiet while watching the back of the wolf disappear into the darkness. _What the hell was it with everyone telling him to tell Beckett his secret?_ He had never, _ever_ , expected Marco Trent to be one of them though. _Then again_ , it wasn't that weird. He had heard how Marco had lost his soulmate, had heard about it when he for a couple weeks actually tried to befriend the wolf. Wendy had been as human as Beckett when Marco had met her, the second he'd understood she was his soulmate he'd told her about everything. Apparently they had agreed to wait on turning her into a wolf, especially since her parents had been very disapproving of her moving out at only seventeen. As soon as they were ready to move in together they'd gotten the surprise of Wendy being pregnant with Julie, which was the biggest reason they'd waited longer. None of them knew what could happen if a pregnant woman turned.

Castle thought back to the way Marco had looked so distraught when he told his tail. They'd decided on her delivering the baby and get a month of rest before they went through with the process, but she didn't get through the first week. There had been an accident, and it had been just a freaking _accident_ , and Wendy hadn't survived it. Castle could tell the only reason Marco hadn't given up then and there was the girl he'd stood with in his arms. Maybe the wolf was right, even if an accident would still hurt a werewolf, it wouldn't necessary kill it. For some reasons they had tougher skin and he'd noticed they healed quicker than humans, which was the biggest reason he never let Beckett see any of the bruises he might get during the cases. But if he didn't tell her the truth, what if she'd catch a case that would kill her as a human when she could've been saved as a wolf? _What if she didn't want to be a wolf?_ He couldn't force her, and he knew of a few soulmate-relationships with one being human and the other a wolf. To be honest, he was just hoping she would believe him. _And love him the wa_ _y_ _he loved her._


	4. Chapter 4

For the next couple of days they spent every free moment searching for everything Hannah Lorenz might've been into. It wasn't until they found a diary in a hidden drawer in her bed that they got a clue that actually started to make sense, at least to Castle. Beckett had first considered it some story their victim was going to try and publish, but Castle had immediately noticed it for what it was and offered himself to read it and try to find any connections at all to her personal life. When his partner had given her that look of disbelief he'd told her how stories sometimes resembled the author in real life. She'd narrowed her eyes and he could tell her mind had immediately gone to his books, perhaps even the stories of her, but she'd simply handed him the book and told him to let her know if he found anything. He just hadn't been sure how to convert " _He was there, what if he saw me turn? What if he finds out we are real?_ " into a human-scenario.

"Castle, are you sure this isn't just a fictional scenery? And why would someone choose to make a silver bullet because of a story she wrote?" Beckett asked as he approached her with the writings.

How was he supposed to tell her all of this once he got to it? "I really think we should look into her coworker, the way she describes him in this story... I think he could be behind it," he waved the book in front of her.

"How can you be sure it's the coworker then, huh? Wouldn't she change the occupation?" she questioned with narrowed eyes and Castle bit back his tongue before he could blurt out it wasn't just a story, it was a diary.

"Well, maybe that's why he killed her, because he somehow found out about the story and how she was going to turn him into the bad guy, maybe that's why he made a silver bullet. He wanted her to get the fate he'd give her in the book."

Even he doubted his words when they left his mouth, knew she would doubt them too, but hoped at least she would believe in the possibility enough to investigate it. Castle held his breath in the wait for the detective to decide what to do, could see the argument she was having with herself in her hazel green eyes. After what felt like minutes but were most likely only a couple seconds, because let's face it he'd _pass out_ if it had been several minutes, she gave off a grunt and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but just because we don't have any other leads," she turned around to get her coat and he had to use all his strength in order not to let go of a joyous shout.

He let her lead the way to the elevator and tried his best not to look as nervous as he was. What if the coworker, John Walton, already knew Castle was one of the wolves too? What if John already had more silver bullets in his possession? He could feel his heart beat harder against his chest as he tried to act as normal as he could, tried to keep his calm so his partner wouldn't get a feel of his worries. Still, he couldn't help but prepare for whatever might be waiting for them at the store Hannah had worked at.

"You okay, Castle?"

He jerked back at her sudden question and gave her a questioning look. She shrugged and looked down at the ground, he could see the slight blush appearing on her cheeks along with hearing the small peak of her heartbeat.

"You're awfully quiet lately, ever since this case first started," she explained, avoiding eye contact with him as the elevator descended the last level before the doors opened.

"I just..." he tried to think of something, "I got a lot on my mind, Alexis has some problems in school."

He lied, of course it was a lie, but it was a believable lie. At least he hoped so.

"Oh? Anything I can help with?" she offered and he glanced at her as they walked out of the elevator.

It warmed his heart how easily she offered help, so effortless. She'd done that quite a lot, especially when it came to Alexis. Which was probably why his daughter wanted him to just tell the woman the big secret, tell her they were soulmates and especially tell her of what they were. His partner had definitely won her way into his daughter's heart as well as his. And he couldn't deny it comforted him knowing she had a gun she could use on the boyfriends who got too handsy. Even if he had no doubt his girl could defend herself, he'd taught her everything he knew.

Looking into those hazel eyes of hers he knew she felt the same for Alexis as his daughter felt for him. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he asked her to marry him, not now but later, would she turn into a roll of stepmother or would she just be the girl's friend. He had a feeling she would continue to be amazing with her, not try be a mother but be there for the girl just the same. His lips turned up in a small smile as he got stuck in her eyes as they tinkled with wonder of their own.

"No, I got this, thanks," his voice was smooth, gentle, and the smile it evoked had his heart skipping a beat.

"Any time."

The rest of the walk to the car was quiet, both in their own thoughts, Castle starting to think about the case again. How was he supposed to tell Beckett how he knew the coworker was the killer without dumping everything else on her too? And how the hell was he supposed to tell her his secret? Should he show her if she didn't believe? What if she shot him? _Maybe make sure she doesn't have her gun anywhere near._ Should he have Alexis nearby? Or should he tell her when they weren't at all close to any humans, or wolves, at all? Even Marco had told him to tell his soulmate, was that a good sign? Once they sat in the car to drive off towards the store Beckett opened her mouth again and so he pushed away all his thoughts to focus on his partner.

"So, what makes you sure this could lead us to the killer? What exactly does the story say?"

"Uh, she keeps mentioning him as being suspicious towards her, as if he would eventually be a werewolf hunter once she was done with the story," Castle said, silently praying the detective wouldn't try and read the diary on her own.

Perhaps he would need to buy an exact copy of the book and ask Alexis to try and write the story with Hannah's writing. _Yeah, that could work_. Beckett hadn't read enough of Hannah's writing so hopefully she wouldn't notice the difference, wouldn't understand the story would be a mix of his and Alexis's imagination.

"We're here."

Beckett shut down the engine and Castle automatically took a deep breath once he got outside in order to make sure there were no other wolf around. He didn't want his partner in more danger than normally and even though he had no clue as to how make her change her mind he would've done his best to get her out of there if the situation would've approached. To his relief though there were no hint of a wolf nearby, which meant they dealt with a human killer. _Thank god._ They walked into the store and headed straight for the first employer they could see, Beckett picking up her badge to introduce herself.

"Detective Beckett, NYPD, this is my partner Castle we're looking for John Walton."

The woman turned to them and glanced the badge before she pointed towards the storage. "He's back there, at least he was a couple minutes ago."

They thanked her and walked to through the door leading to the storage room, showing the badge to another employee who was about to stop them because it was employees only.

"Oh," said the man when they asked after John Walton, and nodded towards a guy a little further away.

Castle felt his muscles tense, getting ready to protect the woman he loved just in case the suspect would try anything, and he hoped the guy didn't know about him.

"John Walton?" Beckett said as they approached him. "Detective Beckett, NYPD, we need to speak to you about Hannah Lorenz."

Castle's ears spiked up at the sudden pick up of his heartbeat. Using his heightened eyesight he could also see the small droplets of sweat starting to pearl on the guy's forehead. _He did it_. Too bad he needed to prove it to Beckett for her to listen to him.

"I didn't... really... know her that well," John said but Castle hoped his partner could hear the lie even without his hearing.

"Well, why don't you tell us what you do know," Beckett asked and the guy swallowed.

"She was really just by herself. I figured she only had this job because she needed the money, not because she wanted to be social. She was a lone wolf," he muttered the last part and Castle felt his veins freeze.

"What was that?"

"She was quite the loner," John quickly changed and Castle wondered if his partner had picked up on it.

To his raising heart's fear he could hear his partner starting to round it up, most likely because she didn't know what he knew. She was beginning to thank for his cooperation and there was no way he could let that happen, not when the killer was standing right in front of them!

"Why did you follow her a few nights before she died?"

"Castle," Beckett hissed and he could feel her eyes on him but he kept his gaze to the guy in front of them.

John's heart was definitely picking up in speed even though his eyes narrowed in fake confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said before he turned around towards a few boxes away from them. "If that's all I really need to get back to work."

Castle shared a look with Beckett who, _finally_ , looked at him with a little belief in her hazels. _She saw it too_.

"Where were you four nights ago?" Beckett questioned and as the guy continued to walk towards the boxes, the crime-solving duo followed.

"Eh, at home, watching a movie."

"Can anyone vouch for that?"

"I'm curious, how did you make that silver bullet?" Castle questioned, feeling Beckett's disapproving eyes settle on him.

Maybe he _was_ pushing it a bit, technically they _didn't_ know he was the killer, didn't have enough evidence against him. Especially not when all Beckett thought they had was a fictional story by the victim, a story which most likely wouldn't hold in court. Not many would agree with his theory, _hell_ , not even his partner had!

John Walton started to bend down in order to take something out of the box and at first Castle figured it was just part of his job, so when his nose caught on to the sudden smell of gun powder his neck hair raised with fright. He might have quicker reflexes than humans but the fact that the guy had his gun at his job definitely caught him off guard. He was fast enough to make sure the bullet didn't hit his partner though, quickly got in front of her as the shot rung through their ears. He fell down to the ground as the bullet burned its way through his chest and he groaned at the pain, immediately putting his hand over the entry of the wound.

"Oh my god! Castle!" his partner called out as she immediately bent down on her knees to let her hands cover his.

* * *

 _ **A/N** : Thank you all so much for all the response you've given me on this one! I can't personally thank all of you but I want you all to know they mean so much to me! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as you did the last. Until next time, xxxx_


	5. Chapter 5

"Stay with me, come on, stay with me," Beckett mumbled and he wondered why the hell she wasn't running after the perp.

"I'm fine, just go get John," he grunted and tried to roll onto his side to get up again. Without any success.

"What? No! You need to go to the hospit-stay still!" He felt her hands push him down with his back into the ground.

"No, no no, no hospital," he mumbled and tried sitting up.

He was about to get up when her hands were pushing him down again. "Lay _still_! You've just been _shot_!" Beckett's panicking had him open his clenched eyes to look at her. Her eyes were opened wide with fear and he started to remember she had no idea this really wasn't that bad. He could tell it was no silver bullet and the bullet had gone straight through so it wasn't still in him. _It had just barely gone past her, thank god._

"It's okay, it's just a graze," he said and her eyes hardened on him, a sting of a harshness he wasn't sure he'd seen before.

"You're shot in the chest, Castle," she pulled out her phone and now it was his turn to narrow _his_ eyes.

"What are you doing?" he grunted as she started clicking on her phone screen.

"Calling an ambulance," she said in a duh voice and he immediately shook his head, pushing himself into a sitting position, using his wolf-strength to break free from her hands.

"No, just drive me home," he said and she put her phone to her ear and he panicked.

He stole her phone from her ear and smashed it against the ground, the phone cracking into pieces thanks to his strength. Beckett yelled out in a fear he hadn't heard before and he trapped her hands in his when she was starting to frantically search his pockets for _his_ phone.

"Just take me home," he said as strong as he could, tried to smother the pain he felt from sneaking into his voice. "Kate, I'm fine."

She shook her head, her heart pounding hard against her chest and he wasn't sure what he could do to make her calm down. Her whole body started shaking and his neck hair raised at the fear he felt radiating from her. He needed to do something, _something_ , but he wasn't sure what. He couldn't tell her like this, if he did she would think he was crazy and call the ambulance anyway. Pulling her hands closer to him he shifted in order to try and get a hold of her eyes.

"Kate. Hey, Kate! Look at me!" He didn't open his mouth again until she met his blues and he could see she was listening close. "Take me home." Her eyes flickered between his eyes as he could see she was trying to figure out what to do.

Castle could already feel his skin healing, the bleeding coming to a slow, and so he knew he would be almost completely recovered in only about a half an hour. _Maybe an hour_.

"You need to go to..." she started but he shook his head as he grabbed two of her fingers to put them towards his pulse in his neck.

"Feel that?" he asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "It's not going weaker. I don't need a hospital."

She started to stammer out in disagreement but he made sure to keep a calming look in his blues, tried to transfer his calm to her. His biggest worry was John Walton but the way his partner was acting he couldn't just tell her to go after him. To his defense he actually _did_ tell her but she was definitely too shook up in order to process anything except for Castle's injury. When he could see her eyes darted slower, could hear her heart beat a little less frantic, he dared a glance around the storage. He used his heightened senses to search their surroundings, _where the hell did everyone go?_ He focused his hearing, tried not to listen to his partner's slowing heart but tried to find any other heartbeats in the store.

" _Please come as fast as you can_." It was the voice of a woman, actually _the_ woman they talked to when they first got there.

Somewhere in the very distance he could hear the familiar sound of red and blue. _Damnit_.

"We need to get out of here," he turned back to his partner and started rising from the ground with a wince on his lips as he pushed one of his hands over the wound.

Beckett was on her feet in a second, her arm immediately going around his waist as her hand grabbed one of his to put around her shoulders in support. He was surprised that she didn't say anything, not a word about getting him to the hospital, but simply helped him out the back door and led him to her car. Getting suspicious he listened in on her heart and found it calmer than it had been minutes earlier. _Was she in shock?_ Castle kept looking around them, observing and listening in order to be ready if someone was there. He could only hear two heartbeats from in front of the store and he assumed it to be the employees they'd gone through before they got to their perp. When his partner helped him into the car he had never been more thankful that they'd had to find a parking spot on the backside of the store instead of in front of it. This way they didn't have to worry about the employees spotting them and telling the police with certainty there had been someone getting injured from the shots they'd heard. Besides, it was a shorter walk from the back door.

The second they were both in the car and Beckett was focusing on starting the engine Castle was quick to take out his phone to send a quick text to his daughter, telling him he'd been shot but was okay and on his way home. He thought about writing another one to Marco, telling him who the killer was, but decided he could do that once he was sure Beckett wouldn't take him to the hospital.

"I... Y-You still should go to the hospital, it's the adrenaline keeping you up," his partner said, her voice almost in shreds at the panic she felt.

"No. If you won't drive me home I'll get out and find a taxi to take me," he half-threatened and felt her glance at him when he winced again.

 _Damn, it stung_. He gave her a determined look and she bit her lip before pulling out of the parking spot and he was relieved to see she set the path towards his loft. In the meantime Castle tried to focus on the heart beating beside him as he leaned back and closed his eyes. Her heart revealed just how distraught she was, and her breathing was a mix between shallow, quickened inhales and deep, slow ones. He could feel the shakes she tried to hide in her movements when shifting the gear and turning the wheel, could feel every glance she shot his way whenever he moved or made the smallest of sound. He absolutely _hated_ the way he was worrying her, but he still couldn't choke the small winces that escaped his lips.

"Rick?" He popped his eyes wide open at the sudden mention of his first name. _She never called him by his first name_. "We're here," she said, her voice betraying her as it was cracking with every word.

He looked out to see that they had come to a stop in front of his building. Hissing at the sting he pushed his back away from the seat and looked back at his partner with an idea.

"Can I borrow your scarf? The one you always keep in the trunk?"

She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "Wha-"

"I can't let Eduardo see me like this," he pointed towards the blood that had sipped through his clothes. He could see in his partner's eyes that she was mostly going on autopilot, as if she was so baffled she didn't know how to act.

"Okay."

She jumped out of the car and he clenched his eyes shut. Now it wouldn't be long until she knew the truth. _God, what if she'd push him away?_ He jumped when she opened the door and winced at the pull on the healing wound in his chest.

"Sorry," he heard her mumble under her breath as she handed him the scarf.

She didn't say more but helped him cover the bloodstains visible on his shirt and jacket before she, without a word, pulled him closer to her again. He couldn't help but shiver at the way she held onto his waist as they walked into his building, both greeting the doorman on their way through the doors.

"Dad!" A flare of red hair came crashing into his chest before he even saw the girl coming and could warn her about his injury. He let go of a small yelp and Beckett was immediately pushing the girl away with a painful 'Careful!'.

Alexis immediately pulled away with big eyes as she tried to search his body without touching. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Where?"

"Not here," Castle said with a small warning in his tone and his daughter met his eyes. Blues looking into blues. He could see the second she agreed. _Right, not here_. Not in the lobby where anyone could see and hear.

His daughter nodded and immediately got to the opposite side of him from Beckett in order to help him into the elevator. They were quiet during the ride and Castle had a feeling his daughter could feel the detectives fear and shock as well as he could. His daughter didn't open her mouth until they were inside their loft, door closed and locked behind them, and he felt his neck hair rise.

"Did you tell her?"

He knew the second his partner's eyes turned to him, the look was drilling into him, and he clenched one of his eyes shut and awaited the scold. "Tell me what?"

"I-ah... thought it best to wait until I got home," he told his daughter who scrunched her nose.

"How'd you get her to take you home and not the hospital?" she asked and they both turned to the detective when she very clearly took a step back with her arms crossing in front of her chest.

"Castle. Tell me _what_?" her tone was the one she used on suspects, hard and demanding.

He gulped but felt his daughter's hand land gently on his back, giving him the strength and comfort she could feel he needed. Taking a deep breath, which he immediately regretted, made his chest sting with a sudden pain that had his hand reaching for his wound with a painful grunt.

Beckett was there in a second, her hands immediately pulling off her scarf in order to get to his wound. "Fuck. Castle , you need to go to a hos-wha..."

Castle clenched his eyes closed again, knowing his partner had unbuttoned his shirt and was now staring at the almost healed skin.

"You sure it wasn't a silver bullet, dad?" he felt his daughter shift to stand beside his partner.

His partner pulled away from him and when he opened his eyes he saw her eyes wide open with disbelief and water starting to sneak into them. _This was not how he was supposed to tell her_.

"Silver bullet? Castle, what is she talking about?" he could hear her heart picking up in speed again and he looked at his daughter to see her hands starting to shake with a fear of her own.

He knew how much his partner meant to his daughter, he knew how much it would hurt her if this didn't work out, he _knew_ she would hurt almost as much as he would. _Almost_.

"Kate, you should sit down," he said as gentle as he could muster and he saw the defiance starting to take over her features. He could _feel_ her body tensing as if she was preparing to fight, just as he could _see_ the tears filling up her eyes. He turned to his daughter, a small reassuring smile on his lips. _He needed her to believe it would all be okay._ "Pumpkin, you should probably go to your room."

The redhead looked at him with fear in her eyes and he hoped he was looking back with a calming blue. He could feel every small step back his partner was taking in order to create distance between them like a pull in his chest, but hoped to the moon his daughter wasn't as aware. After a few seconds of silence his daughter nodded and started to back towards the stairs, but before she left she turned to the detective with plea in her blues.

"Please, don't leave, Kate. Just... don't leave," she whispered, just loud enough for the detective to hear.

It pained him to see his daughter so distraught, with tears at the edge of her own eyes, as she left them alone. Taking a deep breath he turned back to his partner who eyed him with caution, her hands shaking and radiating with a feeling he wasn't familiar with. It felt like fear, but also sorrow and... emptiness? As if she was about to lose everything she had. Maybe she was. _Maybe he was._

* * *

 _ **A/N** : __Again, thank you so much for your comments and reviews! Hope you continue to find this interesting. Until next time, xxxxx_


	6. Chapter 6

Castle didn't dare go anywhere close to her. Too afraid to scare her. Too afraid to lose her. She'd already backed away so far from him that he was almost happy he was the one closest to the door, that way he knew she couldn't go anywhere without approaching him. But it also scared him because he didn't want her to feel like he was keeping her there, didn't want her to feel like she couldn't run, didn't want her to feel prisoner. _She was his soulmate for god's sake!_ All he wanted was for her to accept him as he was and love him the way he loved her.

"I was going to tell you Kate, you _need_ to know that, I just... I don't know how," his voice wasn't much louder than a whisper and he hoped to god she could hear him. Her eyes were begging him to spit it out and so he did, in the least gracious way. "I'm a werewolf."

Her jaw dropped and he silently cursed himself under his breath. He started to stammer, trying to come up with something, _anything_ , to explain himself.

"No." Her whisper was so faint he almost didn't even hear her. "It's... not possible. No," she repeated again while shaking her head. "No, werewolves don't exist." Her voice was stronger, more confident, _she really didn't believe_.

He took a careful step forward and felt a sting to his chest that had nothing to do with the gun shot when his partner took an equal step back. _How was he supposed to make her believe without frightening her?_ Kate Beckett didn't scare easily and he was surprised by her behavior. _Did the idea of werewolves being real scare her that much?_ _Or was it the fact that he'd lied and never told her the truth?_ Carefully he raised his hands to his shirt, starting to unbutton his shirt in order to take it off. _Maybe this could work_.

"What are you doing?" Beckett questioned and glancing up to her he could tell she was about to panic, her heart picking up in speed. He tried his best to stay calm, to transfer his calm to her.

"Just look at my wound," he said gently. He wiped away the blood with his shirt in order to reveal the small scar on his chest, which was now the only evidence he'd even gotten shot.

He dropped his shirt on the floor, figuring he would pick it up later, and stood with his arms slightly stretched out. It was up to her to believe now. She'd seen the wound, seen the shot, so he hoped he wouldn't have to change in order for her to believe him. _Hopefully the healed wound would be enough_. At first her eyes wouldn't leave his, as if she was afraid to look away, but at the same time he could see the fight she was having with herself. The fight between believing and just waving it off as a joke. The second her hazels left his blues and wandered down to his chest she let out a loud gasp, her feet immediately taking off towards him. He had to freeze his body not to back at her sudden change in position. Her eyes were wide with shock and confusion as her fingers suddenly were on his chest, starting a careful trace on his marred skin. Castle had to concentrate hard in order not to shiver at the sudden electricity her fingers transferred into his body, had to stop the shudder from breaking out. _This was not at all the reaction he'd expected._ He'd expected her to keep her distance, since that's what she'd done ever since they got to his home. And, _fuck,_ she got close _._ All Castle could think about was _her._ The _scent_ of her _,_ the _beating heart_ of hers _,_ the _warmth_ radiating from her body _._ And all he really wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and hug her tight, all while praying she wouldn't leave him.

"How is this even possible? You didn't wear a vest," she mumbled and he wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or actually expected him to answer. "I _saw_ you get shot! You _were shot_." Her tone was strong, yet insecure and he could pretty much hear her mind working, trying to figure out what the hell had happened only an hour earlier.

"I was." Her eyes snapped back up to his and carefully he put his hand over hers, carefully letting his fingers trace the back of her hand before he covered her hand completely. "I was shot, Kate, but thanks to my genes it didn't matter."

Her hazels showed her confusion, the water in it had halted and he couldn't explain how grateful he was for that. He _hated_ seeing her cry, he _hated_ when she was in pain.

"That's not possible, Castle. It's _not_. You should be _fighting for you life_ , or..." her voice choked on the last word but she didn't need to say it for him to understand what she was trying to say. _Dead_.

"I should, yeah, but I'm not." He heard her heart still beating fast, felt the worry and despair sent out of her body. She shook her head and he fought the groan wanting to escape his lips. _Did he really need to change in order for her to believe him?!_ "I know you don't believe in this stuff but I _promise_ it's real. Hannah Lorenz _was_ a werewolf, Marco and Julie _are_ werewolves, _I_ am a werewolf."

Her eyes flickered between his, hazels displaying disbelief. _She'd decided_. He felt his heart beat faster at the sudden realization. _And she wasn't going to believe him_. He didn't have time to react before a bunch of hard knocks on the door interrupted and he cursed under his breath.

"I got it."

His daughter seemed to appear out of nowhere and he felt his neck hairs stand at another realization. _She'd stayed by the stairs to spy on them_. He turned in order to tell her no, that it could be the killer standing on the other side of the door with a silver bullet in his gun this time, but before he could she'd already opened the door and in came none other than Marco and Julie. _Fuck_.

"Who was it? Who killed my soulmate?!" Julie growled and _how the hell did they know something was up?!_

Castle looked at his partner, who had jerked back her hand only to freeze after taking a few steps back, before looking at Marco who looked at him with expecting eyes. _This was all such a mess._

"I-ah, John Walton, her coworker. He figured it out," he blurted out and felt the glare of his partner burn in the back of his head. "He's still on the loose, he's got a gun and I don't know if he has any more silver bullets," he told anyway and heard the expected scolding start behind him.

" _Castle_ , you can't just _share_ information like..."

"I will _kill_ him," Julie growled before twirling around to head to the door but before she could get out Alexis placed herself in the way.

Castle couldn't stop the yelp as he watched his girl stand up to one of the Trents.

"Julie, please," Alexis held out her hands in a calming matter and Castle felt his heart jump at the sight. "If you kill him Beckett won't hesitate to arrest you."

"Then I'll just kill her too," Julie raged and Castle placed himself in front of his partner, his arms out in a protective matter.

Alexis met his eyes for a split second and he could see a certain strength in her blues he hadn't seen before. He noticed her eyes flickered between him and the detective standing behind him.

"If you do my dad will feel the _exact same_ thing you do now. Do you really wish that on another wolf? Another wolf who's done nothing than tried to help you? Who just _gave_ you the one who killed your soulmate? Beckett is _my dad's_ soulmate, do you really think I would let you kill her? What if you were in my shoes, huh? Would you want your dad to lose your mom?"

Castle just watched the scene, his body well aware of how his partner was seeing the same he did, _hearing_ the same. Julie yelled out in frustration and for a second he thought she would punch his daughter, could see the way she turned her hands into fists, but before he could react the girl was throwing the punch into his wall. Alexis was still standing her ground, carefully looking into the other girl's eyes with determination evident. Castle couldn't see Julie's eyes but he could hear the girl's heart slowing down, it still beat hard and angry but not as furiously as before.

"He _needs_ to _pay_ ," she growled and Castle knew that if he'd been the one in his daughter's shoes he would've flinched, but _she_ didn't.

"And he will. Go pay him a visit, tell him how you one day will rip his throat out, tell him he can be expecting you at night when it's full moon, tell him prison can't stop you, and then let him live the rest of his life in constant fear of you coming to get him every full moon." Alexis's voice was dark and he shuddered at the threat even though it wasn't meant for him.

Marco, who'd been silent during the whole scene, turned to him and raised one of his brows. Automatically Castle's body prepared for fight, prepared to protect his partner still standing behind him.

"Should've pitched it like that."

Castle felt stunned at the comment, but simply nodded at the wolf before watching him walk to his daughter to put his hand on her shoulder. The two Trents exchanged a look before Julie turned back to Alexis, nodded, and as soon as his redhead moved out of the way the two left.

Letting go of a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, Castle slowly turned back to his partner. Her eyes were narrowed, her body tense and when he started to lift his hand in order to reach out for her she took a quick step back, her hazels snapping onto his.

"I got a murderer on the loose," she mumbled and started to walk in a half circle in order to stay out of his arm length as she walked past him. "Don't follow me." Her voice was sharp and he felt his heart crack, his eyes observing her as she tried to keep an eyes on both him and his daughter while she moved towards the door.

Once again his daughter stepped in between their guest and the exit, her blue eyes filling with tears as she watched the detective stop in her steps to not get too close.

"Please, Kate, you can't leave," the girl pleaded and he felt his own tears go down his cheeks.

"Let her g-go, pumpkin. We can't... force her to sta-ay," he choked out the words, his heart breaking with each word passing his lips.

Kate looked back at him and he could swear he saw tears in hers too, saw the same heartbreak in her hazels and he wondered why _the hell_ she would put herself through this if it hurt her as much as it hurt him. His daughter moved out of the way and the second Kate felt comfortable enough with the space she was given, she left. Castle couldn't help but listen after her, listen to her heartbeat going further and further way, his own breaking down in pieces for each step she added between them.

"Dad, why did you let her go?" Alexis choked out, her tears as consistent as his.

He forced his feet to take the steps required to put his arms around his girl, hugging her tightly as she started crying into his chest.

"I can't keep her prisoner, Alexis. She has to choose herself."

"But you're soulmates," the girl sobbed and he buried his face in her hair.

"I know."

* * *

 ** _A/N_** _: Once again, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for all your reviews! They truly warm my heart! Like always I really hope you've enjoyed this chapter too, and that you will enjoy the rest too. Right now I still don't really know how many more chapters there will be *hehe* but we'll see soon. Until next time, xxxx_


	7. Chapter 7

Castle couldn't stay at the loft. When his partner had left he had hugged his daughter tightly, whispered comforting words, not really knowing if it was his daughter or himself he tried to soothe. After a while he suddenly remember what the detective had said. _I got a murderer on the loose_. She was going after him. _She was going after John Walton_. Alexis had told him she would go to bed, and so he told her he needed some air and would go out for a while. He could tell his daughter didn't truly believed him but she didn't stop him, just told him to stay safe and kissed his cheek. Before he walked out he'd switched to a pair of black sweatpants and a black shirt, hoped the dark outfit could hide him in the dark of the night. Then he'd followed her scent, started following it from his door and out on the street. He hadn't needed to smell one of her things first, he _knew_ her scent, could easily pick it out amongst all the other scents circling in the air.

It didn't take long before he was back at the store Hannah had worked at, where he saw the cops had taped off the ground and their lights were still blinking red and blue. He stayed out of the way, made sure no one saw him as he searched the perimeter. Thanks to his heightened senses he didn't need to go close to follow her movements. She'd gone into the store, into the storage to be more exact, and had most likely stopped at the pool of his blood on the ground. He had no idea how long she'd stood there or exactly what she'd done in there but once she'd gotten out again it had been through the back door. He could tell he'd decided the opposite way of their walk to her car earlier. He followed her trail and saw the things she'd seen. John Walton must've had his car there, had driven away as fast as he could if the marks in the road were any indications of it. Taking deep breaths Castle followed as she must've continued her search on foot.

He couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't taken her car, or a cab, but was thankful for it, it made it easier for him to find her. _Maybe she wanted him to find her?_ Though he doubted it. That fear in her eyes, those tears, he had a feeling she wanted nothing of the sort. Her last words had been 'Don't follow me', and he knew he was violating her wish but the killer she was after had killed a _werewolf_. The guy wasn't scared of a cop, and that was what feared Castle. The guy wouldn't stop at firing another bullet and if he wasn't there to step in front of her...

"Damnit Kate, where are you?" he mumbled into the darkness of the night.

His eyes searched the road as his feet followed the scent of her. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a car hidden amongst the bushes and trees to his right, across the road. Taking in a few deep breaths he could tell she had seen it too, her scent was leading him right to the car. Before crossing the road he made sure no car was driving on it. Getting closer to the car he prayed he wasn't too late. John Walton must've parked it there on purpose because once he got to it there were no indications of an accident. Which meant the killer _wanted_ to park there. His heart beat increased as his eyes started to frantically look around, tried to find her. _What if he was too late?_ He wouldn't survive if he was.

He couldn't see her, or the killer, and when he drew another deep breath he could tell she'd gone further into the forest. He could also tell she'd gone straight into the same trail of another scent. _John Walton_. Before he was really aware of what he was doing he was bending his back forward, hunching down with his fingers digging into the ground as he felt his bones cracking, his body quickly and painfully changing. It wasn't quite as painful, though, almost as if the pain of his partner leaving earlier that evening had hurt more. _It had_. His claws dug into the ground now, his ears taking in every small sound around him, his nose immediately taking in every scent filling the air and his teeth clenched in a low growl. If anyone saw him now they would go off running and screaming, but he didn't care. All he cared for was _her_ and finding her before anything bad could happen.

His clothes had ripped into shreds and he grunted at the pieces. He dug his human-like paws into the dirt and set off into the night, his nose telling him what way to go to find his partner. His heart beating faster when he heard the howl of another wolf not far away. He immediately increased his speed, each step sending him flying through the trees as he followed the trail of his partner's scent.

"Freeze! Police!" The sound of her voice had him pushing himself further, the adrenaline in his veins pumping through his whole body. "Wha-"

Once he got sight of her he could also see the blonde wolf standing right in front of her, teeth growling with his back haunched and Castle recognized that move. Kate did hold her gun pointed at the wolf but Castle could hear her heart speeding and see the way her body had frozen with shock, she wasn't going to be able to defend herself. He launched himself forward, growling and bearing his teeth to the other wolf as he placed himself in front of his partner. The blonde looked at him with question in his eyes but Castle simply growled at him, his body language clearly warning the other wolf to _back off_. He heard his partner gasp behind him and hoped her finger wouldn't pull the trigger, unsure of how the other wolf would react to that. The two wolves stared at each other for a minute or two before another wolf, not far from them, howled in a victorious way. Not breaking the eye contact the blonde wolf started backing away from them, teeth not gleaming in the night anymore as he spun around and set off towards the howl.

Castle relaxed his body a bit, but refused to look away from where the wolf had gone, just in case the wolf would come back. There were no blonde wolf he knew of, all of the wolves he'd met earlier had either had black or brown hair. Well, except his mother and his daughter then, who were both gingers. But he couldn't recall meeting a blonde wolf in the city before, then again it was a big city. _And_ he didn't exactly keep track of every wolf in town.

"C-Castle?"

 _Oh, shit._ He'd forgotten his partner was right now aiming her gun at him, observing him in his second form. Even if he'd planned on telling her about it one day he'd never really planned on showing her until she asked him to, if she ever did. Carefully he raised his human-like paws in a slow motion, feeling his hair rise at the fear of her shooting him. He could still hear her rapid heart, her shallow breathing, and he made sure to turn around even slower than normal. He would've loved to change back before facing her, didn't want to scare her off, but by doing that he'd need to crack his bones back. And that was a sight he did _not_ want to be the first she saw. He was used to it and he still hurt and felt uncomfortable whenever he witnessed his daughter or mother change.

"Is that you?" her trembling voice matched the emotion he saw the second their eyes met. _Fear of the unknown_.

She gasped and he saw her hands, still holding the gun, start to shake a bit. If he'd been in his human form he would've gently laid his hands over hers, bending her gun out of her grasp just to make sure she didn't accidentally shot him or herself, but he _wasn't_ in his human form and so he couldn't. She would've most likely shot him if he had.

"It is you," she whispered to his surprise.

Her hands lowered the gun as her eyes kept flickering between his blues, her lips slightly parted in shocked wonder. He stood still and observed his partner as she hesitantly started moving closer, her right hand letting go of her gun in order to slowly lift it up. He tried not to react when her fingertips slid across his chest, trailing over his fur, and he was sure she could feel the way his heart skipped a beat. Her eyes kept flickering between his, as if she tried to make herself believe it was really true. When she let her whole palm spread out over his chest he couldn't stop the shiver going down his spine, her hand was sending electricity down his body in a way he'd never experienced before.

"How long have you been like this?" she questioned carefully and continued to let her fingers move through the short fur she could reach.

Castle held up his right hand and started to back away slowly, just enough to make sure him turning back wouldn't somehow hurt her. Before he started cracking his bones back into place he took a second to listen to their surroundings, because even if he had heightened senses in his human form they still didn't beat the senses he had in his wolf form. He gave his partner an excusing look and bent forward a bit in order to start changing back. _Here we go_. He heard her gasp but knew there was no turning back now, knew that this was a part of his nature, and she needed to see this side of him too. _Hopefully it wouldn't scare her away_. Sneaking glances at her he saw her eyes were wide but to his relief she wasn't backing away. She wasn't _rejecting_ him. When he felt the last bones crack into the right places he straightened in his stand and stretched his back as the final crack sounded through the forest.

" _Oh,_ " her sudden exclaim had him immediately looking at her and he could just see the blush on her cheeks before her back was staring at him. "You're naked."

 _Oh_. He couldn't help but chuckle at that, both amused and nervous. _He'd forgotten about that part_.

"Sorry, usually I-ah don't change back until I'm back to where I started," he apologized, running his hand through his hair. "I could change back but thing is I can't really talk when I'm a... wolf." He didn't know why but saying it out loud to her felt like a heavy stone was lifted off of his shoulders. It was such a relief! She _finally_ knew the truth! _Only took him three years_.

"Well-eh... here," she started shrugging off the coat she was wearing and he doubted it would do much but at least he could cover?

She held it out towards him but kept her eyes facing the other way. He didn't hesitate to accept the coat and after holding it up in front of him he decided it was indeed to small to put on, so he just held it up in front of him so it covered his most intimate part.

"I'm good," he said and she hesitantly turned around, her eyes avoiding his until she was completely turned. Her eyes were searching his again, looking for answers he knew she wouldn't be able to figure out on her own. "I was born this way," he answered her previous question, the one he hadn't been able to answer in his wolf form. "Mother is a wolf, her parents were wolves but I don't know how far back it goes." He shrugged his shoulders, because he didn't know how the whole so-called myth had started. Didn't know who was first and how they first had changed. _Was it a bite from a wolf or mutation in the genes? Maybe both?_ He had no clue.

Her forehead wrinkled in that adorable way it always did when she was thinking deeply about something. He'd let that slip that first time they worked together, when they went through his fan mail in order to find the killer.

"Born... does that mean Alexis..?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she's born a wolf too. Though Meredith has no clue," he added quickly.

"So, all your kids will be... werewolves?"

"Oh," he chuckled slightly, "no, if both parents are werewolves it's more likely but it's not always a guarantee. I kind of hoped Alexis wouldn't be, considering Meredith isn't my soulmate, but the second I could sense she was one I was careful to make sure she wouldn't change in front of anyone other than me or mother."

His partner opened her mouth again, probably having a thousand more questions and honestly Castle was just happy she felt safe enough to ask them, but before she could let out the first question another howl sounded through the air. Castle immediately looked into the distance where the sound had come from, instinctively taking a few steps closer to his soulmate in order to be able to protect her if needed.

"What are they saying?" Beckett asked and he turned to her.

"Well, I don't know." When her eyes narrowed and her lips parted slightly in confusion he explained as short as he could. "I'm not part of one of the packs around here, Marco asked me to join his when I got old enough but honestly me and my mother have always kept to ourselves. And after I got Alexis I figured we were our own little pack."

"Who is Marco really?" She asked but before he could answer another howl sounded through the air, from the opposite direction this time.

"We, uh, need to go. I'll answer everything at the loft." Looking around he took a deep whiff of the wind to make sure the wolves weren't anywhere near them. Still covering his intimate parts with her coat he silently cursed himself for not saving his pants earlier. He took another whiff before he held out his hand to her in a hesitant reach. She looked at his hand and he started to fear she wouldn't take it when she suddenly bit her lower lip and met his eyes with a small smile. When she took his hand it was with gentle fingers slowly tangling themselves into his. _Did she feel the electricity too?_

* * *

 _ **A/N** : Hope you enjoyed! Now it's like this: I haven't fully been able to write much this week, and I only have one more chapter that is finished, but I'll see if I can write some more tomorrow (if I don't get called to work) and still be able to publish tomorrow, if not then I'll let you know through my twitter that I won't publish (LololovaX). Until next time, xxxx_


	8. Chapter 8

It took them a while to get home. Castle had forgotten his phone at home when he left to find his partner and since he had smashed _her_ phone she didn't have one on her either. Beckett had given him her look of disapproval when he suggested she could call Alexis in order to get clothes so they could get home, and he'd immediately apologized, said he would buy her a new one. A _newer_ one.

"I _don't_ need the newest, Castle. Just get me the same one I had," she'd argued but he'd already decided he would get her the latest one.

Beckett had somehow gotten some pants to him, had walked up to the store where the police still stood and gotten some NYPD pants from one of the fellow officers. Castle had questioned if they'd asked what she'd need them for but she just shrugged and thrown them to him, told him to just shut up and put them on before anyone saw him and reported a flashing. After that it had been rather easy to take the bus home. They were both rather quiet during their transport. Castle couldn't stop but wondering what she was thinking about, what kind of questions she would have for him once they got to the loft. The first thing they exchanged were his warning of Alexis being asleep, that they would have to try their best at being quiet, and then he opened the door for her to walk inside first.

Once he'd closed the door, and locked it, he led her to his office in order to make sure they wouldn't waken his daughter. He kept glancing at her every now and then, watching that same adorable wrinkle that had occupied her forehead ever since they sat down on the bus. Castle told her to sit down on the couch while he went to put a shirt on but when he came back she wasn't on the couch like he'd expected her to. His partner was standing by the big window, looking out over the city they lived in. Carefully he walked up the the window to stand beside her, though he still kept his du stance. He wasn't sure how she felt about it all, just because she hadn't run away from him didn't mean she was accepting his other nature.

"Soo, it's real. You weren't just joking around," she whispered and he glanced at her before looking back to the city.

"No, it's real."

Her heartbeat was steady for once, wasn't picking up in speed in a panic, and it soothed him in a way he wasn't familiar with, yet it felt completely familiar. He heard her take a deep breath before she was turning to him and when he looked at her, their eyes met. His own heart started beating a little faster at looking into those beautiful eyes, he could swear he could drown in them.

"What did Alexis mean when she said you would hurt like Julie if I died?"

He immediately broke their eye contact to look at the city instead. _Part one of telling the truth - check. Part two would be so much harder_. He knew he needed to tell her but he felt his hands starting to shake with the fear entering his body again. Fiddling with his fingers he didn't know she noticed his change in demeanor until her hands suddenly covered his in a gentle touch.

"I-ah, we're-ah... connected," he started. "You know how some people believe we all have a soulmate out there? It's-ah, true," he stumbled across his words, _damned_ himself for being a writer yet having such a hard time finding the words that truly mattered. "Wolves have a way of actually knowing, like we instantly fall in love on a deeper level than we ever have, we can... _feel_ our mate in a way that no one else can. And if we part from them, in such a way that Hannah was ripped away from Julie, it's like our whole world is ripped away from us. It's like we will never heal from that wound, no matter how much time passes." He paused, wasn't really sure of how to continue. Her thumb was smoothly sliding across the back of his hand and it was... enchanting.

"So when Alexis said you would hurt..?"

He took a shivering breath before he met her hazel eyes again. Meeting her brown and green colored eyes had his heart skip a beat, his insides melting, and he gulped before he managed to answer.

"You and I are soulmates."

The confession sent relief down his body. He'd said it, _the truth was finally out,_ and there was nothing he could do but await her reaction. Her eyes widened, yet he could see something in those hazels that told him she wasn't surprised. _Maybe she'd played with the thought before_.

"How long have you known?" she asked, genuine curiosity playing around in the twinkles of her eyes.

He pulled away one of his hands from hers in order to run it through his hair. "Since I first looked into your eyes," he said truthfully.

"Wow," she breathed out and looked down.

He could hear her heartbeat slightly quicken and when he searched for her eyes he could see them watering a bit. Feeling his own heartbeat increasing he didn't know what to do, and so he carefully pulled her hands into his in order to run his fingertips over her skin. She shivered at the touch and if it hadn't been for the sorrow radiating from her he would've felt proud his touch could send shivers down her body.

"What's wrong?" he whispered his question, not wanting to push her away.

"You knew wh-when you left with Gina."

If it hadn't been for his heightened hearing he would've never heard her mumbling words. He hadn't known if she would remember that, but since she did he knew he had to explain it to her.

"Yeah, I knew." He but his inside cheek before he continued. "But I only did that because you were going out with Demming." Her eyes snapped to his and she 'oh'ed. "I can't deny I wanted you to feel the same way I did, but... it _hurts_ knowing that I hurt you. I could... _feel_ how you got hurt by that, and I regretted it the second I put my arms around her."

"I..." she sighed. "I was about to accept your offer, had blown off Demming just minutes before I got into the room and asked to speak with you." He watched her bite her lips as her cheeks turned pink, _he loved watching her blush_. "Actually, it was Espo who opened my eyes, confronted me asking why I thought you were still around, and how you wouldn't come back after the summer just to watch me be with another guy."

Castle was surprised by her honesty, her openness, and he was afraid to interrupt her. He didn't want her to stop, her words calmed his heart, her voice being music to his ears. She took a deep breath and he felt his heart skip a beat when one of her hands pulled away from his only to land on his chest, right over his heart.

"I was finally accepting I had feelings for you, that's why I didn't want you back. I didn't like the power you held over my heart, the power you still hold." Her words were only whispers, her eyes trained on his chest where her hand laid firmly to feel his beating heart.

When she'd been quiet for a couple minutes he decided it was safe to talk without feeling he was the one to stop her from talking. "If it makes you feel any better, you got power over mine too."

Their eyes met and hers flickered between his, something obviously on her mind but he didn't get to ask before her hand, the one he'd still been holding, let go of his to cup his cheek. He held his breath when she was suddenly standing onto her toes, her face slowly rising to his, and he didn't let it go until her lips were claiming his in a hesitant kiss, almost as if she wasn't sure of her own actions. Her lips pulled back slightly but he could hear her heartbeat, could feel the same electricity going down both their bodies, and he knew she would return before she did. Their lips met again but with more certainty, her fingers curling into the shirt at his chest, and it didn't take long before his hands found her hips. He pulled her body closer to his with gentle movements, his head spinning when they simultaneously parted their lips and her taste invaded his tastebuds. They had to stop, had to pull away from each other, otherwise he knew he would've fainted at the strong feelings she stirred in him. And by the quickened heartbeat and fastened breathing of hers he was sure she felt the same.

"Wow," she gasped, her cheeks as red as he'd ever seen them, her lips pouting in a useless try not to smile.

"Wow indeed," he agreed and carefully pulled her into his chest in order to hug her body. To his satisfaction she didn't hesitate to put her head on his shoulder and let her arms sneak around him to hug him back. She even _snuggled in_ , and her scent filled his nostrils in a way he'd only dreamt of before.

A ringtone sounding through the loft had him grunting, _he didn't want to pull away_ , but he did after planting a kiss to her forehead and mumbling an excuse. It didn't take him long to located his phone and seeing the I.D. had him take a deep breath of strength before answering.

"Castle."

"We found him, when we're done with him we'll deliver him to the twelfth." Marco's voice said on the other end and Kate was watching her partner as he hummed.

"By the way, Marco?" Castle said before the wolf could hang up. "Do you know why two wolves where running around in the forest howling tonight? I thought howling was only for emergencies so to not attract humans."

It wasn't really Castle's job to keep track on the wolves in the city but, considering he had the other wolf on the line who actually did have that job, he figured he could always update him.

"Oh yeah, I sent out my pack to find him. And now that you mention it, say hi to your detective from me. I look forward to see her join us."

Castle's eyes widened and his lips parted a bit. The blonde had told the wolf about Kate, had most likely told how Castle had stepped in between them in order to protect her too. Marco hung up before Castle could say anything more and when he let his hand drop from his ear his partner was there with question evident in her eyes.

"What's wrong Castle? And who _is_ Marco?"

"Well," Castle cleared his throat as he tried to figure out how to explain everything to her. There were still tons of things she didn't know, and tons of things he wouldn't even know to tell until it either came up or she asked the question. Kate raised one of her eyebrows in expectation and he furrowed his own in thought. "It's complicated, and I'm not even sure I understand it myself to be honest. Marco is... well, kind of the alpha, I guess. He's the one making sure all wolves in New York City follow these rules we have in order to keep our identity hidden."

"So, you're part of his... pack?"

He could see how she tried to go through every detail she knew about the myth, tried to figure out which would be true and what not.

"Technically no. Like I told you before we've built our own small pack, me, Alexis and my mother. But that doesn't mean he won't take me out if I somehow threaten our existence."

"So, he's like the alpha of all no matter pack?" she asked and he shrugged with his shoulders while slowly nodding.

"Yeah, kind of. At least here in the city, there are others in different cities. And together they build a counsel along with the elders," Castle tried to explain. All of a sudden her lips parted in a yawn that she quickly tried to smother and hide behind her hand and he couldn't stop the chuckle past his lips. "Come on, it's late," he said in a low voice as he walked up to her again, his hands searching for hers. "You can sleep in my bed if you want? I promise no funny business."

She bit her lower lip and he wondered what she was thinking, halfway wished the theory of werewolves being able to read thoughts to be true. "I'm not tired."

Tugging on her hands he was glad to see her following him into his bedroom. "Liar," he said with a small smile.

She returned the smile before her gaze turned serious again. "But what did he want?"

He let go of her hands in order to go through his drawers in the search for a t-shirt and a pair of shorts she could use as pjs. "They found John Walton, those other wolves out there tonight were out there on mission to find him, and they will deliver him to the precinct tomorrow." He told her and handed her the clothes. When he met her gaze he could tell she knew there was more, something he wasn't telling, and so he let go of a sigh. "He told me to say hi, and tell you he couldn't wait till you join us. Which you of course don't need to!" he added quickly with his hands raised up in defense.

"Join as in..?" her voice shivered a little and another yawn slipped past her lips.

He nodded. "But let's sleep, we can talk more tomorrow."

After a hesitant look on her face she finally agreed, calming his heart, and they took turns in the bathroom. When they laid in the bed they were facing each other and Castle couldn't stop himself from moving closer so he could peck her forehead, her nose and her lips. It ended with her giggling, _he had never heard her giggling before_ , and before he could do it all over again she moved to put her head on his chest. Her scent surrounded all around him and he couldn't explain how happy he felt.

"Night Rick." She snuggled closer, her heartbeat steadying and her breathing going deeper.

"Night Kate," he whispered and closed his eyes, focusing on the feel of her in his arms.

* * *

 _ **A/N** : So, I haven't finished writing chapter 9 but since I feel generous I wanted to give you this chapter tonight anyway, I hope I'll get some more writing done tomorrow/tonight but anyway I have loads of things to do during the weekend so not sure when I'll be able to update. At least now you know you'll get more chapters, it'll just take some time because life is getting in the way. Hope you've had an awesome Halloween and will have an amazing weekend! Until next time, xxxx_


	9. Chapter 9

When Castle awoke the next morning his heart started panicking immediately. _She wasn't there!_ He sat right up and started to look around his bedroom. _Had she never been there? Had it all been a dream?_ His mind was doing laps in a try to figure out what had happened the day before. The second his eyes landed on the shirt and shorts he'd lent her he could feel a glimpse of relief in his body but his mind was still racing. _If it'd been real then why wasn't she there? Had she regretted her decision and left?_ It took him all of his power not to call out her name and it didn't take him more than a few seconds to fly out of the bed. He took a deep breath and could feel her scent still linger in the air, that's when he sharpened his ears and heard his pumpkin's voice sound in the kitchen.

"...feels like putting on clothes that are too small or make you do weird positions but once you're in them it feels as normal as other clothes. It hurts a bit but it's not... _too_ awful."

"What about the first time? When you changed for the first time?" Kate's voice questioned and he felt his heart immediately slow with the relief. _She was still there_.

"Well, first time was different," his daughter explained and he couldn't stop listening in. It was exciting how close the two had gotten during the few years they'd known each other, and them finally being able to discuss everything warmed his heart. "I was about seven and my dad had told me all about it, I knew I was different when I was four and could do things other kids my age couldn't. Physically that is. Here," she paused and he could hear a fizzling sound. _Were they making breakfast?_ "Dad talked me through each step, said I didn't have to unless I felt ready, he told me it would feel so weird I'd want to stop in the middle but he made sure to tell me that once I started I needed to follow through. He said it would be worse to turn back halfway through, so I did everything he told me to do. I'm not sure how it works when your not born with it though, if it feels different. I remember my body was fully aware of everything that happened and I didn't feel any panic at all, but I've heard stories about people who freaked out because they hadn't been prepared."

Castle ran a hand through his hair, _he wasn't sure how non-borns's first change was either._ He'd also heard stories, both good ones and bad ones. He'd heard theories about how human bodies _could_ reject the gene and wasn't sure what was true and what was not. _But they hadn't been soulmates_ , a voice reminded him. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if it would be a good idea to turn his partner or not. He wanted to, _god knew he wanted to_ , but if there was even the slightest of chance of her getting hurt in the process... didn't matter if it was physically or mentally, he wouldn't be the one to cause her harm. _He wouldn't let anyone else cause it either_.

"Dad, will you stop eavesdropping and just get out here."

He jerked at the sudden mention of his daughter and cursed under his breath as he set his steps to the kitchen. The second he was able to see the two women standing at the island he could see his daughter's arms crossed over her chest as his partner, _and soulmate_ , was standing beside her with a confused look on her face.

"You know, if you ever listen in on us when we talk girl-stuff, I will kick you," Alexis warned with her finger waving in warning.

Castle humphed. "I would never."

"Wait, you mean he heard us?" Kate asked with her eyes wide, looking between him and his daughter.

Alexis nodded, her eyes stern on him. "Wolf hearing, perfect way to know when people wake up. _And_ when they try to check up on you when you sleep yourself."

"Oh come on, that was _one_ time," Castle grunted.

"Several times," Alexis told his partner who just observed their ordeal. "Anyway, pancakes are ready." She turned to the pancake in the pan in order to put it on the plate with the rest before she carried it to the table.

"How well can you hear, exactly?" Kate questioned, her eyes searching for his and he saw them narrow once his blues met hers. "Can you read thoughts?"

He couldn't stop himself but to start to chuckle while shaking his head. "What? No! No, I can hear your heartbeat but no, not your thoughts. Don't be absurd, and you say I'm the one with the crazy theories," he teased but shut his mouth quickly when he saw her irritated look. It didn't take long though before she straightened her body, her eyes going blind as she started to think about what he'd said.

"You can hear my heart?" her voice revealed just how surprised she was and he heard her heart flatter for a second.

"Ooh, and I've heard soulmates, once both connected, can feel it too!" Alexis piped in and Kate immediately turned to his daughter with shock written all over her face. "Ew, no, not like _that_. I meant as in you turning," the girl scrunched up her nose and Castle chuckled with his cheeks blushing.

The girl sat down at the table and dug into a pancake and Castle observed his partner, who were definitely blushing. She even avoided his eyes and he felt amusement flowing through his veins. Moving closer to her he carefully let his fingers nudge hers at her sides and she immediately snapped her eyes to his, her hazels filled with curiosity. Her fingers twitched with his and he wondered if it was because she could feel the same electricity that he did. He threaded their fingers together and gently tugged her with him towards the table where their breakfast awaited.

"When did you two get up?" he asked as they sat down and started digging into their own pancakes.

"Well, I got up at seven but Alexis was already up," Kate answered and Alexis nodded.

"I thought I heard something that wasn't right, and when I got into the living room I could feel her scent." Alexis told him and when he glanced to Kate he figured his girl had already told her this because she didn't look surprised at all.

"How does it work? Turning into a wolf?" Kate asked and he felt his heart skip a beat.

 _Was she thinking about it already?_ "Well, most theories about the myth is right, so it takes a wolf's bite to turn. It's either that or being born with the gene. But like I said, you don't have to turn unless you want to. I would never force you to do something you don't want to."

"So, you need to bite me, will it hurt much?" she asked and he bit his tongue. Her facial expression resembled her work one, as if she was just doing her job, her duty, and that's not how she wanted it to feel like. It wasn't supposed to be a duty. Even if she was more vulnerable as a human he wouldn't change it if it meant she would regret her decision for the rest of their lives.

"Well, I don't know," Castle answered truthfully. "Since my mother was a wolf I didn't really get the choice."

Kate fell quiet for a while, her mind elsewhere as they continued to eat their breakfast. It wasn't hard for him to start spying on her heart and its rhythm, mostly to keep track if she was starting to feel any type of panic or not. To his surprise though her beat was as steady as it always was during a hunt after a suspect. Alexis started to talk about her school and Castle dropped his focus on his partner in order to give his daughter his full attention. He could see his partner did the same and his heart warmed at the sight.

* * *

Castle and Beckett didn't get to be alone until they were heading off towards the precinct. Something in Alexis had changed and Castle had felt it radiating from her small body. It was like she was free to be herself on a whole other level, she didn't have to hesitate or change her words on order to not reveal their secret. She could finally tell someone other than her dad and her grandma about her struggles of not letting people know she could hear them talk from a far. Castle also had a feeling there was more she wanted to discuss with the woman, things he wouldn't understand because he was a man, not a woman, and things she didn't want to tell her grandma because it might be awkward.

"When did you tell Alexis?" His partner's voice dragged him from his own thoughts.

"Hm?" He looked at her as they rode the elevator towards the homicide floor.

"When did you tell her about me? About us being... soulmates?" She looked hesitant, as if she was afraid wouldn't be afraid of the answer.

With her walls he definitely understood how awkward it all must've felt. She was probably having an inner battle with herself between the way she was feeling about it all and the way she wanted to hide and never come out again. Of course he already knew why, he did understand why she was trying to protect her heart, but he also hoped she understood he had no intentions of breaking it, or her.

"I told her after that first case, when she asked why I was willing to put myself in dangerous situations just for a book," he said while thinking back.

Alexis had been upset with him, said she didn't understand how the hell he would be willing to shadow a cop when there were so many risks by it. She'd agreed that _yes_ he was a werewolf and therefor healed faster if he would get shot and _yes_ he did have faster reflexes _but it also meant he might expose them_. And they had both heard rumors of what Marco did to wolves who exposed them. After he told her about what he had felt towards the detective her whole demeanor towards it had changed. Or, well, she still felt it stupid but at least she understood it. She had told him to reveal the truth for the detective but he'd felt his partner would need to warm up to him a bit first, he had to build up some sort of trust and friendship before he felt like she would believe him once he told her.

Besides, he didn't want it all to be about them being soulmates, he wanted her to _choose_ him herself. He didn't want her to feel obligated to be with him just because their souls were connected. The way she'd reacted when he was shot the day before told him she did feel for him on a deeper level, and the way they had grown closer the past three years had definitely proved to him it wasn't just their souls. He was pretty certain he would've fallen for her no matter what, and he was almost as sure she would've eventually stopped denying her feelings for him. In another world it would probably take a few more years, but he truly believed they would've ended up together, one way or another.

"So, she's known this whole time too..." Her voice was a low one, and he wondered if she had forgotten he was able to hear her or if she just didn't care if he heard the small insecurity in her tone.

"Well, yeah. She was quite worried about you or the boys to find out about us, and I knew she wouldn't calm down unless she knew the truth. She's been telling me to tell you ever since day one," he told her and he met her gaze with an assuring smile set on his lips. He could see the corners of her lips lift up, couldn't fight the strong need to kiss them and so he quickly checked what floor they were on in order to quickly lean down and peck her lips. He so badly wanted to kiss her thoroughly, but he also knew that if he gave into temptation the whole precinct would know what was going on before they themselves did. When he pulled back again he saw her cheeks had reddened but didn't get to comment on it before the elevator beeped and the doors started to open.

"Yo, Beckett! Castle! You won't believe who turned up this morning!" Esposito called out from the bullpen the second they walked out the elevator.

"Who?" Castle said, making his tone sound surprised mixed with the curiosity only he could muster, and he could feel the eyes of his partner on him.

"John Walton," Espo said as they walked towards the bullpen. "I don't know how but he stumbled into the precinct looking over his shoulder with every step and with crazy eyes. Oh, and you should've heard what he was saying!"

They came up the Beckett's desk where she was dumping her bag and putting her jacket on the chair as Ryan joined them with a mocking expression.

"'Werewolves are real, werewolves are real'," he waved his hands in a crazed way, his eyes looking wide as Espo started laughing.

"I can't believe even our killer made the connection before you did, Castle," Espo mocked and Castle pretended to grump as he let his shoulders hang a bit.

He secretly glanced towards his partner who had suddenly gone very quiet and very stiff. Her poker face might've been the best of the gang but right then he was starting to regret not warning her for this kind of situation. He needed to change topic, _fast_.

"So, you've already interviewed him then?" he asked as grumpily as he could muster, making sure the boys wouldn't turn to notice their sister-in-arm's expression.

"We figured you would like to do the honors, especially considering you knew who she was," Ryan said, a gentler tone creeping into his voice.

"Awe, you guys are too sweet," Beckett said before rolling her eyes and walking towards the interrogation room. "Let's go, Castle."

He felt his heart calm as he set off after his partner, feeling relief in his body. _She'd regained the poker face_. When they got into the interrogation they saw John Walton's face widen with fear as he shot up from his chair only to get nowhere as the cuffs connecting him to the table restrained him from getting anywhere.

"It's-it's-it's you! I shot you! You should be dead! You-you- _you're one of them!_ "

Castle stopped in his tracks before he regained his posture and walked the last few steps to sit down beside his partner at the table.

"Guess your aim isn't that good, huh, John?" Beckett questioned as she looked down in her files before looking up at their killer. "So, what made you think you could get away with killing Hannah Lorenz?"

The killer was standing as far away from the two as possible, his arms stretched out because of the chains he was attached to. Castle couldn't help but grin at the killer, he had no problem with him knowing he was one of the wolves. No one would believe him anyway.

"She was a _werewolf_ , she didn't deserve to live! And neither does he!" John pointed to him and Castle narrowed his eyes. "You have a gun, you should shoot him! Why aren't you shooting him?! Are you one of them too?!" The chain was jingling as he constantly tried to get away from the two.

"No, and you're going away for life," his partner's harsh tone was a bit harsher than he'd anticipated it would be.

She stood up and gave the man a glare before she carefully ran her hand over Castle's back, almost making him shiver as he stood up again. Before he turned to walk out though he put his hands on the table in order to lean closer towards the guy who killed one of the his.

"You should sleep with one eye open, you never know what might happen in jail," he lowered his voice to one he knew wouldn't be caught on tape, "especially during full moon."

He saw John's eyes widen even more and with satisfaction he heard his heart quickening with fear. Satisfied, Castle went out of the interrogation as he heard the man start yelling out how none of them were safe, how the werewolves were real and how they had taken over even in the police. Apparently he was a bit too gleeful because he caught a stare from his partner and her mouth opened with a whisper so quiet he could tell she had finally figured out how to communicate with him without anyone else hearing.

"Stop grinning."

He took charge over his features on his way over to her desk and together they sat down to deal with the paperwork.

* * *

 _ **A/N** : Sooo, I've recently decided this is the last chapter, next will be an epilogue and then that's it for this story. Hope you guys enjoyed the ride as much as I did! Until next time, xxx_


	10. Epilogue

Kate knew her partner, her _soulmate_ , was watching her as she laid in their bed with her eyes closed. For the untrained eye, and ears, she would look like she was sound asleep, but she was well aware he knew better. He knew how her heart sounded when she was asleep, he'd had about a year to memorize it, and she couldn't wait until she knew the same. She moved her body a bit and flinched at how sore it felt, she hadn't anticipated it to feel like this. _Then again_ , she hadn't really known _what_ to anticipate.

"You okay?" She flinched again at his whisper, it was louder than she'd thought it would be. "Sorry," he practically just breathed out and she carefully opened her eyes in order to peek at him.

His blue eyes were so clear and so _blue_ she swore she would drown in them deeper than she had before. They were also filled with a worry, a worry she could _feel_ radiating from his body. _So, this is how he always knew her worries_. He'd tried to explain it to her once but she hadn't quite understood how it was possible. _Until now_.

"I'm fine," she whispered, "just a little sore."

He observed her the same way he always did and she bit her lower lip, feeling her cheeks blush at his stare. She started pulling up the covers to hide but before she could his hands reached out and stopped her, one of them cupping her cheek and she immediately shivered at his touch. It sent _tingles_ down her skin. She'd thought it to be electric before but this? _This_ was what he'd been telling her about heightened senses? _God,_ _his touch would kill her_.

"But you're not hurt?" he questioned and she shook her head lightly, his thumb stroking her cheek.

"I can feel you worry, stop worrying," she commented and laid her hand atop of his. "I feel good, it just feels like the kind of soreness you get after a workout."

He hummed and she turned her head slightly to kiss his palm. He'd been much more worried about the night before than she had, she could feel the fear still lingering in his soul. She wondered for how long he'd felt like that, ever since they set the date for her change? Or even earlier? They'd done quite some research before he had agreed to change her, he said he would refuse to change her if there was even the slightest of risks of her getting hurt because of it. Alexis had been a great help there, had found books none of them knew existed until she had brought them home, and Kate couldn't be more grateful for the girl's help. Kate had actually been afraid the redhead would change her mind about her once she started dating the girl's father. She had even expressed her worry once when Castle had asked why she was so worried every time Alexis was near them, especially when he took the freedom to kiss her in front of his daughter. At first Kate had tried to wave it off as her being slightly embarrassed to kiss in front of the teenager, but he had sensed she was lying. Just like she could finally sense him now, could hear the beat of his heart as it pumped blood through his veins.

"It feels so weird, I can hear your heartbeat," Kate whispered and he chuckled with one of the brightest of smiles on his lips.

"There's so many new things you're gonna discover, nothing will be the same," he told her and she felt a small hitch in her breathing. "Well, you and me will mostly be the same," she felt her heart calm down again, "and I will teach you everything I know at acting normal in the precinct."

She couldn't stop the snort at that, the chuckle escaping her lips not making it any better. "You've never been normal at the precinct."

He hummed, "True. But you never suspected anything, and you're New York's finest detective."

Kate pursed her lips, that was sadly true. He had known they were soulmates for _three fonting years_ and she'd never even had a clue he wasn't human. She hadn't truly believed him at first either, thinking he was just making something up due to the strangeness around their case. But after she saw him, really _saw_ him, she knew he was telling the truth. And if she was honest with herself she'd felt it coming. The way she felt towards him, the way she couldn't stay away from him, it must've been the magnetic field of their souls being attracted to one another. She'd denied it for so long but once he had been standing in front of her, in his wolf form, she'd finally just let go.

"Shut up," she muttered and he chuckled as he leant closer, before she knew it his lips claimed hers in a gentle kiss that felt, _oh so_ , enticing in comparison to all the kisses from before.

When he started pulling away from her she let go of a disapproving hum and followed his lips only to end up with her body in line with his. A chuckle rumbled in his chest as his hands landed on her hips under the covers, sending hot tingles down her belly, but to her small disappointment he was holding her away from him instead of pulling her closer. Though, she also understood his actions. She wasn't sure she could handle all senses of making love with him right away, wasn't sure she was quite ready for that just yet. Their love making had been much, _much_ , greater than anything she'd dreamt of, and with her senses being _heightened_? She knew it would be explosive. Castle slowed down the kiss and she tried to follow his lead, tried to calm her racing heart.

"Listen to my heart, Kate," his voice was low in a guiding way and she concentrated on her hearing. It didn't take long before all she heard was his heart, the beating slow in a calming matter, and soon she could feel her own heart slow down. It was as though their hearts were suddenly beating as one, in perfect harmony.

"How'd you know that would work?" she asked curiously once she felt calm enough, her eyes searching his blues.

His cheeks blushed and when he didn't answer at first she pecked his lips, making sure not to linger in case it would suck her in. She then waited, because she knew that sooner or later he would talk. Often it was sooner rather than later.

"It's what I do every time I need to calm down," he eventually revealed and she felt her whole body fill with love. "It's pathetic I know."

"No," she said shaking her head, her voice a bit louder now because they had both started talking normally a while ago. "I think it's sweet."

His blues widened a little before his lips turned upwards in a big smile, his eyes looking at her the way only he did.

"I love you, you know that, right?" He said for the millionth of time and she mirrored his smile.

"I love you too," she returned the sentiment before she snuggled closer to him.

It might be too soon for them to make love, she needed to get used to the new feel of everything first, but there was no way she would hold back on her snuggles. She had never really been a cuddly person before but with Castle it just felt right. And she couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life together with him, couldn't wait to wake up next to him every day, couldn't wait to go out on runs with him in their other form. The way if had felt the night before, when she changed for the first time and they ran through the woods, she'd never felt so free before. And now, with the heightened senses, there were no doubt in her mind that they were indeed soulmates. Or as Castle had, _oh so_ , jokingly said, _wolf mates_.

 ** _THE END_**

* * *

 _ **A/N** : THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for all the amazing reviews and follows and comments and votes and all of your support throughout this Halloween story! Of course I hope you all had an amazing Halloween and that you really enjoyed this ride as much as I did! Love you to the moon and back! _

_Anyway, haven't yet decided what to write next but have a few prompts in my hand to choose from. However I start my internship next week and it'll go on for FOUR weeks, which means I might not be able to write much and even if I do then I might not be able to publish..._

 _So, to keep tabs I recommend you to follow me on twitter (LololovaX) because that's where I'm as most active when I can. Other than that, have a great day/week/month! Until next time, xxxx_


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